CHELMSFORD -- The average cost of attending the prom in this part of the country is more than $1,500, and while there's nothing 17-year-old Hannah Wright can do about the costs of renting a limo, buying tickets or getting hair and makeup done, there's one major expense she's hoping to help girls avoid.

Wright has collected 40 prom dresses and is giving them out to local students this weekend.

"First of all, I love helping out anyone in need," said Wright, a Chelmsford High School junior, "and it's important for any girl to go to prom because they deserve it."

Wright got the idea from a similar national effort and thought the Lowell area needed something like it. She began the project in February, collecting dresses from friends, family, neighbors, "really anyone that's heard of it," she said.

Girls were able to pick up dresses Friday afternoon at Lowell High School.

"I've literally loved every minute of it," Wright said of the project, which she hopes to do again next year -- maybe with a fashion show to help raise money for make-up, shoes or accessories.

"I've worked pretty much nonstop, and it's been really rewarding."

Two Chelmsford clothing shops, Chantilly Place and Markus and Leslie, partnered with Wright on the project. Both are familiar with the high cost of prom.

"I think it's a huge concern for girls," said Colleen Ferry, the owner of Chantilly Place.

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"I think they all want to be a part of it, but it's a major expense."

Markus and Leslie Lewis, the co-owners of Markus and Leslie, are reinventing their clothing boutique as a place for art courses and workshops. Their specialty was always handpainted clothing, so they've donated a few gowns with handpainted designs.

"They're so appreciative, and we know they're going to a good home," Markus Lewis said. Prices of prom gowns, he said, "have skyrocketed."

Dresses commonly cost $300 to $700, Ferry said. Girls might sometimes wear hand-me-downs from a friend or older sister, but if it's their prom, they're more likely to want to buy one of their own, she said.

Chantilly Place, which was in downtown Lowell until it moved earlier this year, will sometimes offer discounts or allow payments to be split over a period of a few months.

Credit-card company Visa released the results of a survey this month that found the average cost people expected to spend on the prom this year is $1,139. The most expensive region is the northeast, where the average amount is $1,528.

Wright didn't do the project entirely on her own, she said, crediting Chantilly Place, Markus and Leslie and a few dozen volunteers, mostly fellow Chelmsford High students. She's kept the dresses in storage until she's been able to give them out.

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